As usual, Cracked has hit the nail on the head, doing so in their trademark style.

We forget how fortunate we are in the 21st century to be liberated from the oppression of past women's fashions -- the Cracked article mentions steel crinoline skirts and tightlacing corsets, as an example. Some feminists have asserted that fashion -- the styling of restrictive clothing, hair, makeup, etc. -- has long been a tool to control or distract women from other more heady pursuits, i.e. things men do.

I'm inclined to agree, to a certain extent -- in RL I've simplified my "look" over the years, partly because as a tall woman, it's hard to find clothing that fits well (you'll find my closet full of men's clothing, and my favorite pair of shoes were purchased on the men's side of the shoe department).

What I've discovered in the process is that I've freed up an awful lot of time to get more things done.

Of course, the irony doesn't escape me that part of that free time is devoted to creating historical fashion in SL, fashion which IRL caused women physical discomfort and damage. An odd juxtaposition, wouldn't you agree?

And yet that is the attraction of Second Life for me: we can enjoy the cosmetic beauty of previous eras of fashion without having to endure the real pain and restrictions they caused women. An amazing concept, indeed.